Chris Tungseth, a 27-year-old construction worker and roofer from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, moved American Idol judges to tears with an emotional original song honoring his late father and his family’s journey through illness and loss.
Tungseth introduced himself to the Idol judges as a roofer who uses music as an outlet to escape the tough situations he and his family have faced, including his father’s passing after a battle with leukemia and his mom’s diagnosis of a “pretty aggressive” form of multiple sclerosis. He shared that he had a great childhood growing up in a very musical household in Minnesota. However, his life changed at age 10 when his mom received her diagnosis.
“I just feel so fortunate. I’m so blessed. I’ve been given the greatest family in the world,” he began. “Growing in Minnesota is the best like childhood was so fun and so simple. My dad, he studied opera and he was an opera singer and then became a pastor and a worship leader and my mom was a pianist. My siblings, we’d sing every holiday at church. Everything that we did was… together, but it started to take a turn when I was 10 years old my mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.”
Twelve years later, his dad was diagnosed with leukemia. “Right away my mom was in and out of the hospital. She was four hours away. My dad would be traveling back and forth trying to take care of our family,” he explained. “He was gravity to us. He’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. He was my best friend. He was my kind of my foundation, the person I turned to for advice.”
Since is father passed away, he hopes to carry on his legacy and keep the musical dream alive within the family. “That was the worst thing I’ve ever had in my life. Like Superman is no longer Superman. My siblings moved home to help me take care of them. I mean, all of us put life on hold, but there was nothing else that we would’ve done. That was honestly the biggest gift for us to be close to them.”
In a clip weaved into the show, Tungseth visited his late father’s grave, and said, “Pops, I wish you were part of this. I wish you were here to see this thing go through, but I’m just going to be me and I hope they see you through me.”
Chris Tungseth then went on to audition with an emotional original song, titled “Lonely Road,” while strumming his acoustic guitar.